Part 42

“God prosper and prolong this public good, A school erected where a chapel stood.”

The school was built in 1753. This village is celebrated for its immense quarries of red sand stone, from which blocks of almost any dimensions can be raised. The red stone of which the castle, town walls, abbey, and most other old buildings in Shrewsbury are formed, was in all probability brought from this place. Nesscliffe hill will amply repay the labour of an ascent, the prospect is most delightful and varied. On the side of the hill is the celebrated KYNASTON’S CAVE, perched like an eagle’s nest upon the brow of an overhanging precipice. Humphrey Kynaston was the keeper or constable of Middle Castle, who from his dissolute and riotous manner of life, was surnamed _The Wild_. The enormous debts he contracted by his conduct caused him to be declared an outlaw, upon which he fled from Middle Castle, and sheltered himself in a cave in Nesscliffe rock, called to this day “Kynaston’s Cave.” It is divided into two rooms by a strong pillar of the rock, upon which is carved, “H. K., 1564.” One of these was the stall for the celebrated outlaw’s horse. The approach was by a flight of broad steps, which have since been partly cut away. Many a deed of daring is rehearsed of this high-born freebooter; among others, his draining to Mr. Lloyd’s health, in that gentleman’s court yard, the great hall tankard of ale; and while some of the retainers were closing him in, and others were securing every way of escape, Kynaston coolly pocketed the silver cup, and clapping spurs to his horse, cleared the gates and the heads of his would-be gaolers at a leap. All his depredations seem more to have been dictated by whim than a desire to plunder, for he supplied the wants of the poor by dispensing the spoils he abstracted from the rich. His grateful pensioners cooked for him in return, and found provender for his elf-like steed; the rich paying him tribute through fear, and the poor from gratitude. Kynaston was never taken, but died, as tradition says, in his cave.

POST OFFICE.—_At Mr. Richard Minion’s_. Letters arrive at 5.40 A.M., and are despatched at 7.20 P.M.

Bickley Andrew, farmer and vict., Nesscliffe Inn

Dovestan Thomas, stone mason

Evans Robert, maltster, farmer, and vict., The Pigeons

Evans Richard, wheelwright

Gittins John, blacksmith

Gittins Stephen, sawyer

Humphreys Thomas, joiner & cabinet maker

Jones John, schoolmaster

Lloyd Richard, blacksmith

Minton John, saddler and harness maker

Minton Richard, postmaster

Morris John, carpenter

Owen John, tailor and draper

Randell George, cooper

Roberts Elizabeth, shopkeeper

WILCOTT,

a township and small well-built village in the parish of Great Ness, one and a half mile S.W. by W. from the church, having in 1841 eleven houses and 57 inhabitants. The scenery in the vicinity of Wilcott is bold and romantic; the soil is fertile, producing good wheat and barley. The principal landowners are William Payne, Esq.; John Povey, Esq.; George Edwards, Esq.; Richard Wildblood, Esq.; and Thomas Bather, Esq. At the apportionment of the tithes, £76. 15s. was awarded to the impropriators, John Povey, Esq., Thomas Bather, Esq., and William Payne, Esq., and £25. 15s. to the vicar of Great Ness. There are 374A. 0R. 22P. of land in this township. Rateable value, £477. 2s. 9d. THE INDEPENDENTS have a small chapel, built of stone, and situated between this village and Kinton.

DIRECTORY.—Thomas Bather, Esq., The Villa; David Frumstone, blacksmith; Thos. Higginson, farmer and maltster; Owens Owen, farmer, grazier, maltster, and cattle salesman; William Payne, Esq.; Jane Price, gentlewoman.

HORDLEY

is a parish and pleasantly situated village, three miles south from Ellesmere. The parish comprehends the townships of Hordley and Bagley, and contains 2,417A. 1R. 39P. of land, and in 1801 had a population of 247 souls; 1831, 325; and in 1841 there were 62 houses and 308 inhabitants. The township of Hordley contains 1,211A. 1R. 18P. of land. Rateable value, £1,802. 2s. 6d. The soil is a mixture of sand and loam, producing good crops of wheat, barley, and turnips; but there is a considerable breadth of grazing land in this locality, which has a bold undulating surface. The farm houses have a respectable appearance, and are provided with convenient out-premises. Sir John Roger Kynaston, Bart., is lord of the manor, and owner of the whole township. A remarkable elm tree, of immense size, stands at the cross roads. The canal to Weston and the Ellesmere turnpike road intersect the township.

THE CHURCH, situated at Higher Hordley, is a plain structure, with a small turret, in which there are two bells. It consists of nave and chancel, and contains neat tablets to Sir John Kynaston, Bart., John Kynaston, Esq., and to the family of Cureton. The chancel contains a fine altar-piece of elaborate workmanship; and there is a beautiful stone font. The living is a rectory, valued in the King’s book at £3. 19s. 2d.; now returned at £330; in the patronage of Sir John Roger Kynaston, Bart., and incumbency of the Rev. John Walter Moore; curate, Rev. William Frazer. The tithes are commuted for £358, of which sum £272 are apportioned to the rector of Hordley; £16 to the rector of Baschurch; £40. 10s. to Mrs. Topp; and £29 to other impropriators. THE RECTORY is a commodious and modern erection, situated on a gentle eminence about a quarter of a mile south-east from the church. It was built by the present incumbent, aided by a grant from Queen Anne’s bounty. The old rectory is now occupied as a farm residence. A NATIONAL SCHOOL and residence for the teacher was built at Lower Hordley, near the centre of the parish, in 1844. The average attendance of scholars is about sixty. It is supported by subscription and a small payment from the children. There are 28A. 2R. 24P. of glebe land in the parish.

DIRECTORY.—Stephen Burroughs, farmer, Lower Hordley; Mary Cureton, farmer; Rev. William Frazer, curate, the Rectory; John Groom, farmer; Richard Harper, blacksmith; Thomas Hewitt, farmer; Joseph Hignett, farmer; Joseph Hignett, farmer, Dandyford farm; Edward Jones, parish clerk and rate collector; Robert Lewis, farmer, Lower Hordley.

BAGLEY

is a township and village in the parish of Hordley, the population of which is returned with that village. The township contains 1,206A. 0R. 21P. of land. Rateable value, £1,785. 10s. The landowners are Rowland Hunt, Esq.; Rev. John Walter Moore; John Dodd, Esq.; Mr. John Groom; Mrs. Davies; Mrs. Leigh; Mrs. Topp; Hon. Thomas Kenyon; Mr. Edward Lewis; Mr. Joseph Hignett; Mr. Edward and John Martin; Mrs. Sutton; Mr. John Langford, and others. Rowland Hunt, Esq., is lord of the manor. The township is bounded by the river Perry, and intersected by the Ellesmere and Weston canal. There are several farms here of considerable extent, and the farm premises are extensive and conveniently arranged.

DIRECTORY.—Samuel Bickley, farmer and maltster; Jane Davies, farmer; John Davies, farmer, The Oaks; Samuel Cheshire, blacksmith; Stephen Denston, Esq., The Hall; John Dodd, farmer; William Griffiths, farmer; John Higgins, grocer and vict., Fox Inn; Thomas Lea, farmer; Joseph Lea, farmer and butcher; Edward Martin, farmer; Sarah Nickson, farmer; Richard Paddock, farmer, Bromley Green; Robert Pembury, farmer, Bromley House; Edward Stant, farmer; Edward Tomlinson, wheelwright; Edward Wilson, wheelwright.

LOPPINGTON

is a parish and pleasantly situated village two and a half miles W.W. by S. from Wem. This place, from its contiguity to Wem, was the scene of several skirmishes between the royal and the parliamentary forces in the civil wars. In one of these skirmishes the royal party set fire to the floor and roof of the church, which being covered with shingles was the more easily accomplished, and the parliamentary soldiers who had taken refuge in the church, were compelled to surrender it to the king’s party. The parish of Loppington comprises the townships of Loppington, Burlton, and Noneley, and contains 3,411A. 1R. 36P. of land, of which 97 acres are in woods, plantations, and fox covers. Gross estimated rental, £5,162. 12s.; rateable value, £4,197. 15s. The Duke of Cleveland is lord of the manor, and holds a court. At the census in 1841 there were 612 inhabitants. The township of Loppington contains 1159A. 0R. 33P. of land, and in 1841 had 68 houses and 331 inhabitants. Major Thomas Dicken, is the most considerable landowner; George Wycherley, Harriet Kynaston, Thomas Lloyd Dickin, Esq., The Trustees of the Poor’s Land, Mr. William Williams, Rev. William Thomas, Robert Chambre Vaughan, Esq., and Thomas Windsor, are also proprietors. The soil is in general a strong clay, and a mixture of turf and sand. There is a flat of waste land called the Brown Moss, of which the freeholders are entitled to the herbage; the moss extends into other townships and covers a considerable surface; 7A. 0R. 21P. are within the bounds of Loppington township.

THE CHURCH is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Michael, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a square tower, in which are three bells; the nave is lofty, and supported by arches rising from oaken pillars; the body of the church is neatly pewed with oaken sittings, and there is an antique stone font. The north wall was demolished during the civil wars in 1650; it was rebuilt and the interior beautified in 1655. There is a very handsome marble tablet to Richard Marigold Noneley and others of the family; the families of Dickin, Chambre, Wingfield, Payne, Groom, Chester, Griffiths, and others, are also remembered on other mural tablets. The living is a vicarage valued in the king’s book at £6. 12s. 1d., now returned at £270 in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor and incumbency of the Rev. William Thomas, M.A. The vicarial tithes of Loppington township are commuted for £111. 16s., and the rectoral for £93. Thomas Dickin, Esq., is the impropriator. There are 24A. 1R. 26P. of glebe land. THE VICARAGE is a commodious brick residence, pleasantly situated a little S.W. from the church, with pleasure grounds tastefully laid out. LOPPINGTON HOUSE, the mansion of Thomas Dickin, Esq., J.P., is a handsome and extensive range of building, the front of which is ornamented with a portico; it is surrounded with a park of considerable extent finely wooded; the pleasure grounds and shrubberries are laid out with great taste, and beautified with fine shrubs and choice flowers. THE HALL or Manor House, a good brick residencies is occupied by Mr. James Baddaley, farmer.

CHARITIES.—_John Kynaston_, by his will, bearing date 30th May, 1694, devised a house, garden, stable, and croft, in the township of Loppington, to his kinsman, Roger Kynaston, and his heirs, to the use of the then schoolmaster of Loppington, and his successors as a salary, for their pains in teaching to read six of the poorest children within the parish, to be appointed by the said Roger Kynaston and his heirs; and if there should happen to be no schoolmaster, he directed that the profits of the premises should be to the use of Roger Kynaston and his heirs. The property devised by the testator consists of a public house in Loppington, with a stable, garden, and croft, containing altogether half an acre. The property, when the Charity Commissioners published their report, was claimed by Thomas Kynaston, grandson of Richard Kynaston, named in the following conveyance:—“By indenture, bearing date 17th November, 1741, between Roger Kynaston, grandson of Roger Kynaston, the devisee above-mentioned, of the one part, and Richard Kynaston, of Loppington, of the other part, reciting the will as above extracted, the said Roger Kynaston, party thereto, in consideration of £4 conveyed to the said Richard Kynaston and his heirs, the messuage, tenements, and lands, and all other the premises in the said will mentioned, and all his estate and interest therein, subject nevertheless to the trusts in the said will mentioned concerning the same.” The premises are let for £13 per annum, an additional sum of £2 being paid by the tenant for a piece of garden formerly no part of the trust premises. The rent of £13 is received by Thomas Kynaston, and he pays thereout £2 yearly to a schoolmaster for the instruction of six poor children. The residue of the rent Thomas Kynaston reserves to his own use; but it is clear that the whole of the rent above-mentioned is applicable to the charitable uses mentioned in the testator’s will, and that notwithstanding that in the conveyance of 1731, £4 was paid as a consideration, Thomas Kynaston can only be considered as a trustee for such charitable uses. It is stated that within the last twenty years Thomas Kynaston has laid out upwards of £300 in rebuilding and improving the premises, but as he has been in possession between thirty and forty years, and during that time has enjoyed the benefit of all the surplus rent beyond the yearly sum of £2, there seems to be no reason why the schoolmaster should not from the present time receive the benefit of the whole rent. It seems also desirable that new trustees should be appointed; but considering the testator vested the property solely in his kinsman, Richard Kynaston, and his heirs, we apprehend that a conveyance to new trustees would not be enforced in a court of equity, provided the said Thomas Kynaston gives up all claim to any beneficial interest therein.

_Jane Manlove_, in 1751, bequeathed £10, and directed the interest to be disposed of in the purchase of clothing for poor widows; the interest to be applied two years to poor widows resident in Loppington township, and the third year to widows of Burlton township.

_Thomas Price_, in 1797, bequeathed £50, the interest to be applied in a distribution of bread every Sunday; he also bequeathed the residue of his personal estate, after the payment of certain legacies, for the same purpose. To this legacy of £50 and £30 in augmentation thereof out of personal estate, and the sum of £10 given by Mrs. Menlove, as above-mentioned, £10 was added by the parish to make up £100, which sum was laid out on mortgage of three cottages in Wem, the deed bearing date the 1st August, 1820. The interest, £4, is distributed according to the donor’s intentions. The particulars of Richard Corbet’s charity will be found noticed with Wem. There is a farm of about 63 acres of land in this parish, the rent of which for a great number of years (certainly from 1690) has been considered as applicable to the repairs of the church, the relief of the poor, and such other purposes as the parishioners should direct, and has been so applied at their discretion.

_Mary Griffiths_, in 1837, bequeathed £300 in the three per cent. consols, and directed the interest to be distributed in money or clothes for the benefit of the poor.

POST OFFICE.—At Elizabeth Matthews. Letters arrive by foot post from Middle at 10 a.m., and are despatched at 3 p.m.

Allen William, bricklayer and plasterer

Astley Thomas, farmer and shopkeeper

Austin John, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Baddaley James, farmer, The Hall

Barnes Mr. William

Bickerley Margaret, farmer

Booth Thomas, gentleman

Brown Charles, farmer and gamekeeper

Capp John, gentleman

Cheetwood Samuel, farmer, Stump House

Chorley James, schoolmaster and assistant overseer

Danks Henry, farrier

Dannelly Richard, farmer and vict., Fox Inn

Davies Joseph, farmer

Dickin Thomas, Esq., Loppington House

Dovaston John, farmer and gardener

Eaton Richard, wheelwright

Eddowes Rev. John, curate

Evans Henry, farmer and wheelwright

Evans Richard, farmer

Harper Hannah, farmer

Harper Samuel, farmer

Heatley Thomas, farmer

Jones John, farmer, Hollywell Moor

Kynaston Harriett, corn miller

Kynaston Rebecca, vict., Dickin’s Arms Inn

Matthews Thomas, farmer

Price John, tailor, The Lodge

Pugh Joseph, farmer

Shingler Miss, gentlewoman

Stanway William, farmer

Thomas Harwood, solicitor

Thomas Rev. William, M.A., The Vicarage

Thomas William, surgeon

Turner Ann, farmer

Vaughan Edward Goldsborough Chambre, Esq., Wood Gate

Watson Robert, farmer and shoemaker

Williams Robert, gentleman

Williams William, blacksmith and vict., Blacksmith’s Arms

Wycherley George, gentleman

Wycherley Robert, farmer

BURLTON

is a village and township, intersected by the Shrewsbury and Ellesmere and the Baschurch and Wem turnpike roads, two miles E. from Baschurch, and five miles S.W. from Wem. The township contains 1,324A. 0R. 14P. of land, and in 1841 had 35 houses and 172 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,604. The soil is various; in some parts a cold clay prevails, and in other places there is a loamy soil, with a mixture of gravel. The principal landowners are R. C. Vaughan, Esq., Thomas Woodfield, Samuel Lee, Robert Leeke, John Menlove, Esq., William Sparling, Esq., The Corporation of Shrewsbury, Thomas Dickin, Esq., Mr. John Platt, Mr. Nicholas Robinson, Mr. Peter Shingler, and Mr. Peter Shingler, jun.; besides whom there are several smaller proprietors. BURLTON GREEN is a plot of waste land, containing two acres, the herbage of which is claimed by the freeholders. There is also a considerable tract of woodland in this township. A court leet and baron is held yearly at the Coach and Horses, by the lord of the manor, Robert C. Vaughan, Esq. The jurisdiction of the court embraces the following townships, viz.:—Burlton, Balderton, Eyton, Fennymere, Frankton, Stanwardine-in-the Field, and Walford. About four-fifths of the township is tithe free; the residue has been commuted; the vicarial for £17. 12s., and the rectoral for £50. 19s., of which £28. 8s. are paid to Messrs. Shingler and Son, and £22. 11s. to Thomas Bulkeley Bulkeley Owen, Esq. The manor, tithes, and estate of Burlton were granted by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, in the reign of William the Conqueror, to the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Shrewsbury, in the possession of which house it remained till the dissolution of monastic institutions in the time of Henry VIII. In the reign of Elizabeth we find it possessed by one Griffith. It then passed to the family of Lawley, of whom was Sir Edward Lawley, K.B., who, dying, left an only daughter, named Ursula. She married, first, Sir Robert Bertie, K.B., and secondly, George Penruddock, Esq., who thus became possessed of Burlton. This gentleman, taking an active part in the wars of King Charles and the Parliament, and being a zealous royalist, his manor, as did many others in the kingdom, changed its owner, and became the property of Captain Arthur Chambre, in whose family it has remained to the present time, and now belongs to his descendant, Robert Chambre Vaughan, Esq., who resides at BURLTON HALL, a very ancient mansion, embosomed in foliage. The greater part of the hall was built about the year 1420; having become much dilapidated, it was thoroughly repaired and beautified during the year 1837. It is handsomely furnished, contains some beautiful paintings, and curious cabinets of the most elaborate workmanship.

Adams Edward, farmer

Baker Joseph, blacksmith and shopkeeper

Baker Robert, beerhouse keeper

Beamont Thomas, farmer, The Coppice

Brown James, farmer, The Grove

Cheshire Thomas, blacksmith

Dean George, fish-net maker

Desert Joseph P., farm bailiff

Dodsworth George, farmer, Wood farm

Done William, shoemaker

Fletcher Richard, shopkeeper

Griffiths Thomas, police officer

Moorehouse Henry Charles, tailor & draper, and victualler, Coach and Horses Inn

Pearce Robert, farmer and maltster, The Wood

Platt John, farmer, The Mill

Pickstock Seth, gentleman

Sadler James, farm manager

Sadler Joseph, farm manager

Sadler Thomas, farmer

Shingler Peter, farmer, The Grange

Vaughan Robert Chambre, Esq., The Hall

Williams Joseph, farmer

NONELEY, OR NUNNELEY,

is a township in Loppington parish, having a scattered population, situated about a mile and a half south from the church. The township contains 931A. 0R. 29P. of land, and in 1841 had 19 houses and 107 inhabitants. Rateable value, £1,018. 10s. The tithes have been commuted, and £37. 7s. apportioned to the Vicar of Loppington; £11. 16s. to the Vicar of Baschurch; and £97. 18s. to Peter Shingler, Esq., the impropriator. The principal landowners are Mrs. Margaret Noneley, Rev. John Evans, Thomas Dickin, Esq., Mr. George Clay, Mr. George Harris, Mr. William Groom, Rowland Hunt, Esq., Mr. John Brayne Gregory, Mr. Robert Betton, D. F. Atcherley, Esq., and Vernon Dolphin, Esq.

DIRECTORY.—_Farmers_: John Davies Bentley; Robert Betton; Samuel Brayne; Thos. Brown; Thomas Harris, The Hall farm; John Higgins; Evan Jones, and maltster; William Jones; Mary Morgan, Ruewood; George Tunnah; John Vernon; George Wall; Thomas Weaver; and William and Richard Webb, The Shaws. Thomas Astley, boot and shoemaker. Arthur Austin, blacksmith.

MIDDLE

is a considerable parish, partly in the Ellesmere division of the hundred of Pimhill, and partly in the Albrighton division, the former comprehending within its bounds the townships of Balderton, Marton, Middle, and part of Sleap; and the latter the chapelry of Hadnal, which consists of the several townships of Alderton, Hadnal, Haston, Hardwick, Shotton, and Smethcott. The entire parish contains 6,902A. 3R. 27P. of land. Mostly a fertile soil, it presents a fine agricultural district, with an undulating surface, interspersed with woods and plantations, and every agreeable feature in landscape beauty. The woods and plantations cover 55A. 3R. 19P. of land. The parish includes the celebrated eminences of Pimhill and Harmour Hill, from whence a most delightful and varied prospect of the country is seen. In 1801 there was a population of 1,141 souls; in 1831, 1,205; and in 1841, 1,330 inhabitants. Rateable value, £4,943. The Duke of Cleveland and the trustees of the late Duke of Bridgewater are joint lords of the manor. The village of Middle is pleasantly situated on an acclivity of red sand-stone rock, on the line of the Shrewsbury, Chester, Ellesmere, and Holyhead turnpike roads. These roads are, however, now but little traversed, the railroads having diverted the greatest portion of the traffic. There are some good houses in the village, which has a straggling appearance; and in the immediate vicinity there are several respectable family residences. The township contains 2,179A. 2R. 15P. of land, the soil of which in some parts is a cold clay, in other parts it is more fertile. In 1841 there were 87 houses and 456 inhabitants. Rateable value, £2,240. The principal landowners are the trustees of the late Viscount Alford, William Henry Bickerton, Esq., William Teece, Esq., Mr. John Chilton, Mr. Edward Birch, Edward Edwards, Esq., and J. A. Lloyd, Esq.